Siege of Mashhad (1750)

Ahmad Shah Durrani soon laid siege to Mashhad, the seat of Shah Rukh Afshar. The city was strongly defended by 8,000 Afsharid defenders^[3] and several Afghan assaults were repulsed by the Persian garrison. Despite this, the Durranis maintained a strict blockade, gradually exhausting the defenders’ supplies and morale.^[2]

By November 1750, Shahrokh was forced to Surrender.^[2][4] He personally came to Ahmad Shah's camp, where he was treated with outward courtesy. Ahmad Shah agreed to preserve Shahrokh on the throne of Mashhad, but only as his vassal. The conditions imposed required Shah Rukh to pay a large indemnity and to release members of Ahmad Shah's family who had remained in Afsharid custody since the death of Nader Shah.^[5]

While Ahmad Shah consolidated his rule in Khorasan, developments in Mazandaran required attention. Muhammad Husain Qajar, son of Fath Ali Khan, had entrenched himself at Astarabad, claiming authority over Mazandaran. Fearing disruption to his arrangements in Khorasan, Ahmad Shah dispatched a division under Shah Pasand Khan to suppress him, while he himself marched toward Nishapur.^[6]